Time-stamp



' 2 SheetsSheet 1. W. H. GILLETTE.

TIME STAMP.

No. 309,537. I Patented Dee. 23,-1884.

(No Model.)

A X H Wineeses iZZZa/mw y 2 SheetsSheet 2.

(N0 Medal.)

W. H. GILLETTE.

TIME STAMP.

Patented De'o. 23, 1884,

F19 4- IB 1? UNITED STATES PATENT EEIcE.

\VILLIAM H. GILLETTE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

TIME-STAMP.

SPECIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,537, dated December23, 1884.

Application filed December 1853.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, WILLIAM H. GILLETTE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Time-Stamps,of which the following description and claims constitute thespecification, and which is illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

This is a time-stamp which stamps upon the upper side of papers Arabicor other characters approximately representing the time of day at-whichthe papers stamped by it were respectively so stamped, and which iautomatically changes those characters at stated intervals, so as tomake them approximately correspond with exact current time, and whichperforms these functions by means of new devices and new combinations ofde vices and by a new mode of operation.

Figure l is an external perspective view of the apparatus. Fig. '2 is acentral. vertical longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a crosssectionlooking toward the left on line X X of Fig. 2. Fig. at is a crosssectionlooking toward the left on line Y Y of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectionlooking to the right on line Z Z of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is aside view lookingtoward the right of the spurred wheel T and the wheel Q. Fig. 7 is asection 011 the line W' XV of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a view of the bottom ofthe stamp proper, showing one set of its automatically-changing figuresin the center, and showing its manually-changed matter in the border.Fig. 9 is a longitudinal central section of the shaft L and ot'theadjacent part of the shaft J, showing the manner in which the shaft L ismounted.

A is the fixed frame of the apparatus.

has a hinged lid, B, which, when raised, gives access to the interior.

C is an oscillating frame, hung on the journals D D, which journals turnin bearings in the frame A, and which bearings are pierced through thewalls of the latter frame substantially at the points where the commontangents of the wheel Q, and the gear I reach those walls. The frame 0is also supported by the spiral springs E E.

F is a shaft connected at the right of the indicated fracture with thearbor of a proper (No model.)

chronometer. Keyed to that shaft are the gear G and the wheel H. Thelatter has a discontinuous flange extending toward the left from theborder of its left-hand surface.

I is a gear keyed to the right-hand end of the shaft J. From theright-hand side of that gear three spurs, K K K", project horizontallv.

L is a shaft turning in bearings in the frame A and in the axis of theshaft J.

M is a gear keyed to that shaft and identical in size and number ofteeth with the gear G.

N is a spiral spring, one end of which is fastened to the gear M, andthe other end of which is fastened to the gear I.

O is a ratchet-keyed to the shaft J.

P is a strong elastic blade, the larger end of which is rigidly fixedwithin a recess in the frame C.

Q is a wheel keyed to the shaft It. The right-hand part of the peripheryof that wheel has teeth j nst double in number the teeth on the gear I,and the left-hand part of that periphery is plain throughout, exceptthat it has the recess S sunk therein directly toward the axis of thewheel. From the left-hand side of the wheel the spur Q projectshorizontally in substantially the position shown in Fig. 6.

T is a wheel keyed to the shaft U. It has two sets of spurs of fivespurs each. One set, V V V V V, project equidistant from the peripheryof the wheel, and the other set, V" V V V ,1)1OJ CQi3 equidistant fromthe right hand side of the wheel T. The line which connects each spur ofeach set with the axis of the wheel T is half-way between the lineswhich connect the two adjacent spurs of the other set with that axis.

T is a gear keyed to the shaft U.

A. is a gear keyed to the end of the tube B. The gear bears to the gearA the proportion of live to twelve. The tube B revolves with a runningfit around the shaft To the left-hand end of the latter shaft theminutewheel C is keyed, and to theleft-hand end of the tube B thehour-wheel Dis keyed. The hour-wheel has the figures 1 to 12, inclusive,raised upon its periphery at equal distances apart, and the minute-wheelhas the figures larly raised upon its periphery. Upon the periphery ofthe wheel. Q similar figures to those last enumerated are raised or sunkor otherwise affixed, and the figures 1 to 12, iiiclusive, are raised orsunk or otherwise fixed upon the outer surface of twelve equidistantteeth of the gear A, respectively. The two sets of figures on the wheelsQ and A are arranged in the same direction and order with those on theminute and hour wheels, respectively, but six numbers in advance of thelat for, so that the uppermost figures on the.

! its new position by means of the spurs V" and wheels Q, and A willalways correspond with the under-most figures on the minute and hourwheels, respectively. So, also, the figures on the wheels Q, and A aredirect in form, while those on the minute and hour wheels are inverted,as printers type are. Manuallychanged matter may be inserted in theborder of the surface of the stamp proper in any suit able manner.

The mode of opta'ation of this apparatus is as follows: A chronometcroutside of the ap paratus is so connected with the shaft F that thelatter revolves and causes the gear G and the wheel H to revolvecontinuously, and to make one revolution every half-hour in thedirection shown by the arrow adjacent to the wheel ]l in Fig. 3. Thatrevolution strains the spiral spring N, through the action of the gearM; and it also soon brings the spur 1C opposite the nearest opening inthe discontinuous flange of the wheel H. Thereupon, the spring N,operating upon the gear ll, forces the latter to revolve, and the spur Kto escape through that opening 5 but thereupon the spur 1Q instantlycomes in contact with the outside of the discontimious flange of thewheel if, and thus arrests the revolution of the gear I when it haspassed over one-sixth of its circumference. FlVO minutes later the spurl escapes through an opening of the discontinuous llange, but isthereupon instantly arrested by coming in contact with the inner side ofthat flange on the opposite side of the wheel If, after passing throughone-sixth of its circle. Thus, through the action of the gears M andttand the spring N and the wheel H, the continuous rotary motion of theshalt i is translated into an intermittent rotary motion of onerevolution (every halfhour) of the gear l, the shalt .l', and. theratchet 0, that intermittent motion taking place every live minutes, andcarrying each of the three parts last named through onesixth of itscircumference. The gearIcauses the wheel Q, the shaft It, and theminute-wheel. U to revolve once every hour with twelve equalintermittent motions in the direction shown by the arrows adjacent tothe wheel Q in Figs. 3 and (S. l lvery twelfth ol' the twelve intermittent motions of the wheel Q causes the gear A, the tube ll, and thehour-wheel D to revolve one-twelfth of their respective circumferencesby means of the wheel T and the eleventh motion of the wheel Q, havingwill pass a little beyond it.

brought the spur Q nearly into contact with the spur V, the twelfthmotion causes the former spur to strike the latter, and thus forces thewheel T to revolve and carry the spur V into the recess S. The wheel Q,continuing to revolve, the recess S carries the spur V to the positionjust vacated by the spur Y, and will then eject the spur V", and Thisoperation thus results in causing the wheclT to revolve one-fifth of itscircumference, and to lock it in V bearing against the periphery of thewheel Q till the latter wheel makes its twelfth succeeding motion. Thegear T being keyed to the same shaft with the wheel T, and beingproportioned to the gear A as live is to twelve. will give the latter anintermittent motion of one-twclfth of its circumference whenever-thewheel. T moves through one-fifth of its eircumference. The result of theoperation thus far explained is to make the minute-wheel C change itspresented figures every five minutes, and to make the hounwheel Ddolike' wise every hour. The stantping-surfaces being furnished with inkin any proper manner, and the apparatus being so set that the undermostfigures on the hour and minute wheels correspond with the time ofsetting, and the wheel 1[ being so adjusted to the gear I that the firstescapement will occur exactly five minutes thereafter, it is clear thatfigures representing the hour and minute, together with any fixed ormanually-cliangeable characters in the face of the stamp will be stampedupon any paper placed beneath the stamping-surface as often as thehandle i l is depressed. Should that handle be depressed at any instantwhercon an eseapement is occurring, the blade 1, instead of being idleas atother times, would strike against one of the projections of theratchet t), and would thus force the ratchet and with it the gear I backto the position they occupied before the escapement began to occur, andwould hold them in that position till the impression is made and thehandle released, and. the frame 0 forced upward by the springs E E.Thercupon the delayed cscapement would occur, and succeed ingescapements would take place at their appointed times, provided thehandle T1 is not held down by the user unnecessarily long.

The figures on the wheels Q, and A are placed there to enable the userto set the printingwheels to any given time without the inconvcniem'zoof examining their presented figures or taking an impression thereof, inorder to ascertain which set are downward at the time in which thesetting is being done.

The teeth of the gear I and of the wheel Q, may have their outer edgescurved convexly; but the angle shown in the drawings between theperipheries of the two is so small that no such curving is absolutelyrequired. So, also, the journals I) 1) may be either above or below thecommon tangent of the gear I and the IIO wheel Q, in which case one orboth of the lat ter should be made wide in peripheral sur- I "face, soas to permit of the resulting longitudinal motion of the lower part ofthe periph cry of the wheel Q. If but one nintingwheel is required, thewheel T, the gear T, the ear A, the tube B, and the wheel 1) may all beomitted, and the wheel Q, constructed as a gear without the lefthandpart shown in the drawings. I do not herein claim an escapementconsisting of a wheel provided with a series of studs, and of anotherwheel provided with a discontinuous flange; nor an intermittent lock 5motion consisting of awheel provided with a stud and a recess, and ofanother wheel provided with two series of studs, though both thoseinventions are shown in this speeiiication, because both are claimed inmyappliea tion No. 93,662 for Letters Patent for an improvcinent intime-stam s, filed May 3, 1885.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the frame A, the frame 0,pivoted in frame A, the gear I, the wheel (2, the shaft R, and the wheel0.

2. The combination of the frame A, the frame C, pivoted to the frame A,the gear I, the wheel Q, the shaft R, the wheel 0, the wheel T, theshaft U, the gear T, the gear A, the tube B, and the wheel I).

3. The combination of the shaft F, the gear G, the wheel H, the shaft L,the gear M, the spring N, and the gear I.

4. The combination of the frame A, the frame 0, pivoted to the frame A,the blade P, the ratchet O, the shaft J, the gear I, the wheel Q, andthe shaft R.

\VILLTAM H. GILLETTITE.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. XVALKER, Monolw W. Barren.

